u/Willing-Leather-9788

Crazy turnaround and we definitely deserved some good luck after last year.

Let’s keep it rolling tonight. We don’t want to be in that position again lol. Definitely sum rest after 9 days off, so I think everyone will be more settled in tonight and amped to take a 2-0 series lead. We haven’t had an NBA finals in New York in the 21st century yet (last time 1999).

#KnicksTape

That’s 4-5 seasons worth of at-bats not getting a hit.

There was no hitter like the Georgia Peach 🍑

Below are the reviews for the 6 Star Wars movies in the prequel and sequel trilogies. I used Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and Letterboxd, then averaged them out. The weighted scores are all out of 100%.

The Phantom Menace (1999): 54% / 6.5 / 3.1/5 - 60.3%
Attack of the Clones (2002): 62% / 6.6 / 3.1/5 - 63.3%
Revenge of the Sith (2005): 79% / 7.7 / 4.1/5 - 79.3%
Prequel score: 67.6%

The Force Awakens (2015): 93% / 7.7 / 3.2/5 - 77%
The Last Jedi (2018): 91% / 6.8 / 2.9/5 - 72.3%
The Rise of Skywalker (2019): 51% / 6.3 / 2.3/5 - 53.3%
Sequel score: 67.5%

There is a .1% difference in their overall weighted scores between the two trilogies.
The prequels final movie, Revenge of the Sith, is rated the highest of the six, with sequel’s first film, The Force Awakens, not far behind.

Do you think these ratings reflect how each trilogy is perceived by its fans? Or is it mostly the critics opinion? From what I’ve heard from most fans, they would think TFA was too high while Attack of the Clones was too low, with The Phantom Menace still above the last 2 sequel movies. I think TFA was far and above the other two, and it still had potential to bring something new to the table while still sticking to Star Wars.

The original trilogy’s scores are as follows:

A New Hope (1977): 94% / 8.6 / 4.2/5 - 88%
The Empire Strikes Back (1980): 93% / 8.7 / 4.4/5 - 89.3%
Return of the Jedi (1983): 83% / 8.3 / 4.1/5 - 82.7%
Originals score: 86.7%

The average score of the whole Skywalker Saga is 73.9%

It’s crazy to me that no one Star Wars movie has an average rating of 9/10 across the 3 platforms. IMDb and Letterboxd were much harder on the sequels while Rotten Tomatoes was much kinder to them than they were the originals (still with very good reviews).

Insane consistency, sustained very good play. No clear career year. Repeated nearly identical seasons so many times.

Murray had 20-29 home runs 11x. 7 of those 11 years he averaged 25-29 homers. Breaking 30 HR 5x and never going over 33.

7 years getting 171-174 hits. And he also had 13 years with a .829+ OPS, with a career best .940.

Barry Bonds (39), 2004 - .609, 617 PA
Barry Bonds (37), 2002 - .582, 612 PA
Barry Bonds (38), 2003 - .529, 550 PA
Ted Williams (38), 1957 - .526, 547 PA
Barry Bonds (36), 2001 - .515, 664 PA
Mickey Mantle (25), 1957 - .512, 623 PA
Ted Williams (28), 1947 - .499, 693 PA
Ted Williams (27), 1946 - .497, 672 PA
Ted Williams (29), 1948 - .497, 638 PA
Ted Williams (30), 1949 - .490, 730 PA
Frank Thomas (26), 1994 - .487, 517 PA
Norm Cash (27), 1961 - .487, 673 PA
Mickey Mantle (30), 1962 - .486, 502 PA
Ted Williams (37), 1956 - .479, 503 PA
Edgar Martínez (32), 1995 - .479, 639 PA
Jason Giambi (30), 2001 - .477, 671 PA
Jason Giambi (29), 2000 - .476, 664 PA
Wade Boggs (30), 1988 - .476, 719 PA
Joey Votto (28) - 2012 - .474, 475 PA
John Olerud (24), 1993 - .473, 679 PA
Chipper Jones (36), 2008 - .470, 534 PA
Mark McGwire (34), 1998 - .470, 681 PA
Carlos Delgado (28), 2000 - .470, 711 PA

A player posted a .470+ OBP in the Post WWII Era 22 times. 13 different players accomplished the feat, with 4 doing it multiple times. Bonds, Williams, Mantle…, and Giambi).

Players needed at least 400 plate appearances to qualify. No one had a .470 OBP season for 25 years from 1963-1987, and no one has done it since Joey Votto in 2012.

Everyone knows Mantle’s 1956 Triple Crown year, where he led both leagues in all 3 categories, is his greatest season, and one of the best of all time.

But what about his second best? It’s either 1957 or 1961.

In 1957, coming off his historical 1956, Mantle hit .365 with 146 walks and a ridiculous .511 OBP, all career highs. He also posted personable bests in OPS and OPS+. Even better than 1956, which is a testament to his greatness. He “only” hit 34 home runs and drove in 94 RBI, but had a bWAR that matched his Triple Crown year (11.4), showcasing some of the greatest plate discipline ever seen, up there with Ruth, Williams, and Bonds. His strikeout rate was the lowest of his career, and he had reached his peak in terms of pure hitting. He stole 16 bags in 19 tries, and hit into just 5 double plays.

Then in 1961, he chased Babe Ruth’s single season home run record, leading Roger Maris until as late as August. Maris began to surge ahead and an eventual hip infection slowed Mickey down, and he finished with 54, a career high. He drove in 128 RBI and scored 131 runs with an MLB high 10.4 WAR despite losing MVP to Maris. He posted a 1.135 OPS with 353 total bases in 1961 compared to a 1.177 OPS in 1957 with 315 total. He had the lowest double rate in the league (just 2 in 646 plate appearances) and was near stole 12 bags in 13 attempts. His .687 SLG was second to only 1956 (.705). It’s crazy that with 20 less home runs his SLG was still up there at .665 in 1957, not far behind.

As an overall baserunner, he was still pretty quick and extremely smart, although not as fast in 1957. Mantle was at his absolute fastest at age 19 before injuring himself in the 1951 World Series as a rookie. He could get out of the box to first to third in 3.1 second, the fastest official clocked time in MLB history. Every injury caused decline, and it’s unfathomable that he was able to maintain remnants of his legendary speed for as long as he did. And be able to even run up the line by his mid 20s, after sustaining so many brutal injuries.

It’s very close. There isn’t much of a defensive swing either. He was better in 1957 than he was in 1961, but not by much (both good years). It comes down to what you value more. He had 20 more homers and 32 more RBI, with a still incredible .448 OBP, in 1961. If anyone has info on which season he was better in situationally (RISP type stats) I’m very curious. Also a more detailed analysis of his fielding.

Barry Bonds (39) - 2004: 1.422 OPS, 263 OPS+, 617 PA
Barry Bonds (37) - 2002: 1.381 OPS, 268 OPS+, 612 PA
Barry Bonds (36) - 2001: 1.379 OPS, 259 OPS+, 664 PA
Barry Bonds (38) - 2003: 1.278 OPS, 231 OPS+, 550 PA
Ted Williams (38) - 1957: 1.257 OPS, 233 OPS+, 547 PA
Mark McGwire (34) - 1998: 1.222 OPS, 216 OPS+, 681 PA
Frank Thomas (26) - 1994: 1.217 OPS, 212 OPS+, 517 PA
Jeff Bagwell (26) - 1994: 1.201 OPS, 213 OPS+, 479 PA
Mark McGwire (32) - 1996: 1.198 OPS, 196 OPS+, 548 PA
Mickey Mantle (25) - 1957: 1.177 OPS, 221 OPS+, 623 PA
Sammy Sosa (32) - 2001: 1.174 OPS, 203 OPS+, 711 PA
Larry Walker (30) - 1997: 1.172 OPS, 178 OPS+, 664 PA
Mickey Mantle (24) - 1956: 1.169 OPS, 210 OPS+, 652 PA
Larry Walker (32) - 1999: 1.168 OPS, 164 OPS+, 513 PA
Ted Williams (27) - 1946: 1.164 OPS, 215 OPS+, 672 PA
Todd Helton (26) - 2000: 1.162 OPS, 163 OPS+, 697 PA
Aaron Judge (32) - 2024: 1.159 OPS, 225 OPS+, 704 PA
Manny Ramirez (28) - 2000: 1.154 OPS, 186 OPS+, 532 PA
Albert Belle (27) - 1994: 1.152 OPS, 194 OPS+, 480 PA

Players needed at least 400 plate appearances to qualify, so Juan Soto’s incredible COVID year didn’t count.

Players have posted a 1.150+ OPS 19 times since WWII.

The difference between fWAR and bWAR for catchers is crazy. fWAR is vastly superior for weighing catchers because it accounts for framing and other important defensive things bWAR does not.

Buster posted a 9.8 fWAR in his 2012 MVP season. Compared to 7.6 bWAR.

This stat really sums up Colorado baseball well, lol. Mile High Stadium, which the Rockies used until 1995, was also the easiest ballpark to hit in, although not quite as much of a “hitter’s paradise” as Coors Field.

Galarraga won the 1993 NL Batting Title in his team’s first year, beating out Tony Gwynn who hit .358. He played in only 120 games in 1993, batting .400 halfway through the year.

He got injured in late July when he was hitting .392, and his average declined when he came back a month later, batting as low as .369 by September. Raised it to .383 two weeks before the season ended. Over the last 8 games he hit .206, bringing his season batting average down to .372.

His .370 mark was the highest single season batting average in 13 years since George Brett’s .390 in 1980. This is a bit cheap because Gwynn hit .3701 in 1987 compared to Galarraga’a .3702 lol.

Only 6 players have hit .370+ since, and no one has reached it since 2004 (Ichiro’s record 262 hit year when he batted .372).

He hit a respectable .277 for his career, so he was a consistent .260-.275 guy. But to win a batting title with .331 and never hit higher .285 in another full year, much less even .300, is pretty crazy.

Any other players that are big outliers for batting champs/high averages in one season and then never coming close to that mark again, or before in their career.

Just a funny comparison, crazy how much era and ballpark can put stats into perspective. The Senators were one of the worst pitching teams ever. But a 3.62 ERA in most eras is great for a whole team, especially in the steroid era.

No starters on Colorado that year had an ERA below 4.50, with 4/6 starters above 5.50, yet they were still one of the best pitching teams that year. On the 1904 Senators, all 5 starters had an ERA below 3.60, but the highest ERA+ on the team was 87.

The Dead Ball Era was almost as wild, or even more than the Steroid Era in terms of stats.

It’s why stats adjusted for era (and to a lesser extent ballpark) are of the upmost importance. Another glaring example is in the second dead ball era of the mid 60s to early 70s, Don Buford had an .804 OPS (10th in the AL) with a 143 OPS+ in Baltimore in 1968. 30 years later in the same ballpark, Jeffrey Hammonds had a .809 OPS with a 111 OPS+.

Lots of ridiculous differences come with Coors Field adjusted stats being compared to numbers from the Dead Ball Eras. From 1995-99, Dante Bichette was averaging 129 RBI, 192 hits, and 31 homers with a .318 average but his OPS+ in that time was a slightly above average 111 (897 OPS.). In 1968, Willie Horton’s ≈ .895 OPS was good for a 165 OPS+ in Detroit. Comparable raw offensive numbers with a clear edge to Bichette, but their OPS+ was over 50 points of a difference. Horton racked up a 5.9 offensive WAR in 1968, while Bichette’s was 8.6 over those FIVE years (1.7 average).

2025 NBA Eastern Conference Semi Finals: New York Knicks defeat Boston Celtics (4-2)

2025 MLB AL Wild Card: New York Yankees defeat Boston Red Sox (2-1)

2026 NHL First Round: Buffalo Sabres defeat Boston Bruins (4-2)

First time I witnessed a Yankee playoff series win over the Sox in my life (I don’t care that it was a 3 game wild card series, I’ll take it. I was at games 2 and 3 and it was electric lol).

In the NFL, the last meeting was the Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots in the 2022 Wild Card. The Bills spanked them 47-17.

The Celtics swept the Nets in the 2022 First Round, but Brooklyn beat them in the 2021 ECSF, 4-1. In 2021 the New York Islanders also beat the Boston Bruins in the NHL Second Round.

The best rivalry across sports is alive and well, with New York finally having gained control again.

Boston was on top in the 2010s for a time. Even though both the Giants and Jets upset the Pats BIG TIME in the early 2010s, The Sox defeated the Yankees in 2018 and 2021. The Pats also beat the Jets again in 2018. The Celtics and Knicks went 1-1 against each other in playoff series in the 2010s (same with the Celtics and Nets in the 2020s). In 2013 the Bruins beat the Rangers in the semi finals.

Love to see NY winning! Philly was the better opponent for the Knicks, even though I think we would’ve beat Boston again too.

*****Meant 74%

He’s taking less than 10 shots a game averaging 18. Insane efficiency. This team is special.

I’m a huge fan of prequels era. The trilogy, especially ROTS, and The Clone Wars, is peak Star Wars. I love 2003 Clone Wars too.

But I feel like people are starting to get ahead of themselves when comparing them to the Originals.

As a trilogy, the OGs are just far and above the prequels. The writing and acting to me is better. And I don’t take away too much from the action scenes/duels because it was the 70s/80s. I actually love the rugged feel of the duels and action sequences. For me, the fight at Jabbas sail barge is one of my favorite fight scenes in all of Star Wars. It was gritty and felt super real.

Empire and ROTJ also capture the entire essence of SW *perfectly* in a way I feel the prequels never did.

Empire as a whole, and the climax/ending of ROTJ, are both absolute PERFECT imo. They laid the foundation for the prequels perfectly which is also what people forget. ANH also establishing the universe so well and spawning a whole franchise.

SE

1. *Ted Williams 1.113, 7177 PA, 191 OPS+, total career - 1.116, 9792 PA, 191 OPS+
2. Barry Bonds - 1.051, 12606 PA, 182 OPS+
3. Manny Ramirez - .996, 9774 PA, 154 OPS+
4. Mark McGwire - .982, 7660 PA, 163 OPS+
5. *Stan Musial - .979, 10767 PA, 157 OPS+, total 6. career: .976, 12721 PA, 159 OPS+
6. Mickey Mantle - .977, 9910 PA, 172 OPS+
7. Frank Thomas - .974, 10075 PA, 156 OPS+
8. Larry Walker - .965, 8030 PA, 141 OPS+
9. Jim Thome - .956, 10313 PA, 147 OPS+
10. Todd Helton - .953, 9453, PA, 133 OPS+

Players needed at least 5,000 plate appearances after WWII and to be inactive to qualify.

Mantle is the only player on the list to play his career entirely after WWII (and the 1940s) and not predominantly (or at all) in the steroid era.

Jeff Bagwell is the nearest miss at .948, and Ralph Kiner is 2nd at .946.

Active players with a .950 OPS (no minimum PA)

Aaron Judge - 1.026, 5125 PA
Mike Trout - 976, 7333 PA
Shohei Ohtani -. 955 OPS, 4458 PA

All 3 will probably finish with a .950+ OPS, Ohtani being the least likely to. Juan Soto, at .947, is the next closest active player, who has the best chance to finish with a .950 career OPS or better. Bryce Harper is 5th among active players at .905 (7784 plate appearances).

27 in 126 years (21.4%) debut 1903 season
18 in 79 years (22.8%) debut 1946-1947 season

Surprisingly, Celtics edge Yanks out here by 1.4%.

Didn’t include this year since both teams still have time to play

A lot of that is because the Yanks didn’t win a World Series for 21 years until 1923. It took Boston 11 years in 1957 to get their first title, winning the NBA Finals.

Boston went on to win 10 more titles in the next 12 years (through their first 23 seasons). After 24 years, the Yankees had just one title while Boston had 11. The Yanks hit their peak 30-50 years after their creation, winning at least 4 titles in every decade from the 1930s to 1950s.

New York best runs:
5 straight titles (1949-53) with 4 in a row from 1936-39 and 4 in 5 years from 1996-00
19 titles in 36 years (1927-62)

Boston best runs:
8 straight titles (1959-1966), 1968-1969 were the last years they won back to back titles
11 titles in 13 years (1957-1969)

Boston’s 11 title in 13 years is the better short peak, but the Yankees have three seperate eras where they threepeated. The Celtics only won titles 3 years in a row (or even 2) in the 1960s. Definitely the better franchise all time. Especially considering the Lakers exist. One less championship than Boston. The MLB team with the second most amount of titles are the Cardinals (11)… not even close.

The Yankees won 20 of their 27 championships before ever having to play in a playoff series before the World Series. They played in a three round playoff format in just 5 of their title winning seasons (1996-98, 00, 09). The Celtics however had to go through three rounds or more for 11 out of their 18 titles, and at least two rounds every time. They played in a four round format for 4 titles, while the Yankees have never won more than three playoff series in a title year.

However, the Yankees had a harder time making the playoffs (and World Series), since until 1969, only the best two teams in each league saw the postseason (and got a chance to play for the series). They had to be the best out of 8-10 teams for 155 games. While the Celtics could get to the NBA playoffs where half the teams in the league made the playoffs (although they were usually a top seed). Even now, 16 teams out of 30 make the playoffs in the NBA, while only 12 out of 30 make it in the MLB. The NBA’s Play In Tournament, also gives an additional 4 teams the chance to make the playoffs once the regular season has ended (4 of the 12 NBA playoff teams go through the play in, while 4 other teams lose in the play in).

Yankees vs. Celtics 1950+

Post integration/WWII (1940s) is the “modern era” of baseball, and Boston played their entire history in that time. Right on the line. In Boston’s debut year, 1946-47, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the Spring of 1947.

Since 1950, the Yankees have 15 titles while the Celtics have 18. Since 1970, both teams have 7.

Since 2000, both teams have won just 2 titles, with New York’s last coming nearly 17 years ago in 2009. The Celtics won in 2024, but had been title-less for 15 years before then.

It’s pretty crazy that the Yankees have just 7 championships since 1962. That’s a title once every 9 years on average. It’s why the late 90s/early 00s dynasty was so important. The Celtics have not had a dynasty in the “modern era” of basketball (post 1990) while the Yankees have had it in a recent era of baseball.

The 2024 championship for Boston is huge, since without it, they’d have an even longer title drought (by one year) than the Yankees. If the Yankees fail to win the World Series this year, it will tie their longest title drought (17 years, 1979-1995, won in 1996) since they won their first title in 1923.

April 30, 2026: New York Knicks defeat Atlanta Hawks (4-2)
May 1, 2026: Buffalo Sabres defeat Boston Bruins (4-2)

Have 2 teams from New York State won playoff series a day apart (or on the same day) ever before, in different sports? It would have to be an NBA team and NHL team because those are the only playoffs that cross over.

I’m laughing so hard right now. The Rolling Stones are probably my favorite band of all time but WTF🤣

Mick Jagger sounds like he’s fending off a rabid raccoon whilst recording. Anyone know what the band was thinking doing this/what they were going for?

Hilarious. I guess when you’re as great as the Stones, you can do whatever you want.

It’s crazy the Celtics went 7-0 against the Lakers in their Finals matchups from 1959-1968, including 3 game 7 victories. Poor Jerry, thank god he got one. They went 8-0 if you go to 1984, another 7 game defeat.

The Lakers finally got one over the Celtics in 1985, winning in 6 powered by a 37 y/o Kareem, securing the franchise’s 9th ring. KAJ averaged 26-9-5-1-1.5 on 60%. Magic (25) and James Worthy (23) also balled out.

Since losing 8 straight Finals to Boston, and going 7-0 in 9 years, they’ve gone 3-1 against them, and Celtics hold a 9-3 all time advantage.

LA, or should I say Minneapolis Lakers won in their first 5 NBA Finals appearances. They finally lost in 1959 before moving to LA in the 1960-61 season.